Preview: Okamiden

Much of Ōkamiden' centers around the children of previous characters from Ōkami and their adventures and the relationships that form through the game's story, according to producer Motohide Eshiro.

Release Date: March 15, 2011
MSRP: $29.99
Exclusively on: DS
E10+ for Everyone 10+
Genre: Adventure 
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom

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Game Development:
In August 2009, Capcom filed for a Japanese trademark on the name "Ōkamiden" for a video game, a few months prior to the Japan release of the Wii version of Ōkami,[21] which led to speculation about an Ōkami sequel; Ōkamiden may be a shortening or pun for Ōkami Gaiden, translated as "Ōkami Sidestory", or possibly Ōkami Densetsu, which translates to "Ōkami Legend", thus fueling speculation that this may be the long awaited sequel. The September 2009 issue of Famitsu revealed that Ōkamiden: Chiisaki Taiyō was indeed another Ōkami game which will be released by Capcom on the Nintendo DS in 2010 in Japan, though no other release information was provided. The Famitsu articles shows gameplay, including combat, and graphics similar to the PlayStation 2/Wii game.

Ōkamiden is directed by Kuniomi Matsushita, who was responsible for the Wii port of Ōkami, and produced by Motohide Eshiro, who has previously worked on titles such as Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny and Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Yukinori Kitajima, writer for the critically-acclaimed Japanese Wii title, 428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de, will be the scenario author for Ōkamiden. In December 2008, Matsushita, who had a strong desire to create a sequel to Ōkami, led a small team to develop an advanced prototype. Matsushita showed this demonstration to Eshiro and his desire to go forward on the project, and the project was greenlighted. The team settled on the Nintendo DS due to its portability, allowing for players to pick it up and play wherever they wish, as well as the ability to use the stylus on the touch screen as a brush.

Eshiro further commented that he considered Ōkamiden more of a successor to Ōkami than a sequel, desiring to build upon the world for a franchise on the Nintendo DS platform. While Ōkamiden will be a DS title, Eshiro has considered to expand subsequent games to work with the Nintendo 3DS unit based on the game's reception. Similarly, Eshire does not rule out a high-definition version on a modern console or a version for the iPhone or similar touch-screen devices depending on the response to Ōkamiden.

Ōkamiden was first shown in playable form at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2009 where it was reported to be about 25% completed. Release in Western markets was uncertain until it was observed that Capcom had trademarked the name Okamiden in both North America and European markets. In April 2010, at its "Captivate" event, Capcom confirmed the game would be released to North American and European markets no later than 2011.